1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a display device, and more particularly, to a display device provided as a front panel of an electronic apparatus.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an electronic device, such as a personal computer or a peripheral apparatus thereof comprises a case body incorporating circuit substrates and electronic apparatuses, and a front panel provided at a front part of this case body so as to display an operational status of the electronic device. The front panel is detachably attached to the case body so that the electronic device can be assembled and maintained with efficiency. Also, for the same purpose, the case body is often formed by a pair of half case bodies combined with each other.
Conventionally, a display device provided as the front panel generally employs a light-emitting diode exhibiting high brightness with low power consumption. A light emitted from this light-emitting diode is viewed by a user of the electronic device via the front panel. In this structure, the light-emitting diode is not directly exposed outside; therefore, not only the light-emitting diode is protected, but also the electronic device appears nicely.
As mentioned above, since the front panel is required to transmit the light emitted from the light-emitting diode, a transparent panel is used as the front panel. Conventionally, the front panel formed by the transparent panel is structured simply for transmitting light. Additionally, the front panel often has a flat-plate form. The front panel may have a form that is not plane as a whole in terms of design; however, a part at which the light emitted from the light-emitting diode is transmitted is often in a flat-plate form.
In this structure, a range from which a display on the front panel can be viewed depends solely on directions in which the light emitted from the light-emitting diode is radiated. Therefore, when the electronic device is placed away from the user (such being the case for a peripheral apparatus of a personal computer), the user cannot view the display on the front panel.